ESPN, the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” doesn’t often have really good stories on horse sports; the occasional tidbit about Thoroughbred racing, which may or may not be worth the pixels it was printed on. But this time, they’ve hit a home run…and about harness racing, no less. I admit, I’m not a follower of harness racing, but this is a great story. Thanks to Marjean for the tip, this article is worth the read.
Bill Finley: The Modern Day Seabiscuit
An excerpt:
By a unsuccessful sire out of a slow, cheap mare, the product of a mating that seemed to be a recipe for failure and owned, trained and bred by someone who had no experience competing at the top levels of the sport, Googoo Gaagaa seemed certain to be a complete and dismal failure on the racetrack. Instead, he is well on his way to greatness.
At two, Googoo Gaagaa won all six of his starts, one by 41 lengths and another by 32. In one race, he completed the mile in 1:56, the fastest race ever on a half-mile track by a 2-year-old. But he was competing in races restricted to Maryland breds, races with small purses and where the competition was weak. That’s a reason why few took him seriously.
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After winning a $20,000 race at Chester, Googoo Gaagaa was aimed for his first major event, the $500,000 Earl Beal Jr. Memorial at Pocono Downs. There were still some skeptics entering the elimination races for the Beal, but Googoo Gaagaa put virtually every doubt to rest when he won by seven lengths in 1:51.3, another world record time.
He was even better in the final, where he beat, among others, three horses from the powerful Jimmy Takter stable. His time of 1:50.4 was the fastest ever by a trotter on a five-eighths of a mile track, an incredible accomplishment for a 3-year-old. In harness racing, older horses are usually significantly faster than 3-year-olds.
Like Seabiscuit, this is a fairytale that has come true.
